A Canadian judge who wore a "Make America Great Again" hat in court on the day after last year's U.S. presidential election has been suspended for 30 days without pay.

Bernd Zabel, 69, is a justice in a provincial-level court in Ontario, according to the BBC. Zabel has called wearing the hat an "ill-considered" attempt at humor in the past and apologized.

The Ontario Judicial Council investigated his actions in August and released its decision on punishment Tuesday, the BBC said. The suspension was the most serious sanction the council could impose short of removing Zabel from office.

The council, which investigates complaints about judges' conduct, also reprimanded Zabel. The panel called the judge's decision to wear the hat a "single aberrant and inexplicable act of judicial misconduct" in an otherwise "unblemished and exemplary" 27-year career on the bench, according to the BBC.

The council found wearing the hat "violated the fundamental principle that the judiciary must remain above and removed from politics," the BBC said.

Zabel testified that he is not a Trump supporter and does not share his views, according to The Toronto Star. He said he bought six Trump hats in June as historical memorabilia when it became clear Trump would win the Republican nomination for president.

The South Asian Bar Association of Toronto felt the judge should have been removed from office, according to the Star.

"Muslim and South Asian lawyers and litigants, in particular, will always wonder if Justice Zabel's rulings are informed by his appreciation for a president who believes they should be barred from Western society," Ranjan Agarwal, a board director for the group, said, according to the Star.